CardTechtor Karu
by sabrina-diamond
Summary: This is the future Generations of Cardcaptors... In 2050 Karu Lin, Sakura's descendant, has to rediscover the Clow cards in the midst of the futuristic world, and joining him are the other descendants... He is now... CardTechtor Karu. R
1. Prologue: Meeting the characters

**Card-Techor Karu **

What happens after Sakura captures all the Clow Cards; eventually grows up and has children? And what if everybody forgot about the legacy of the Clow cards and sets their sights on the future, where technology rules the Earth? This is set many generations after the present day and much has changed… And it's also about Karu-Lin, Sakura's great, great grandson, who dreams of a time when much of the Earth was untouched by technology and unknown to him; he will be a legendary hero beyond his time- he will be... The Card-Techtor. Meet the futuristic generation of the Cardcaptors in the changed Earth…

**Karu Lin: **Sakura and Li Showron's descendant. A brash, auburn-haired, courageous boy with a kind personality, he doesn't always mean what he says- most of the time. He may be rough on the outside (like Li) but inside, he's a real softie when it comes to helping people (Like Sakura). His best friends are Chesham (a boy), Richie Choy (a girl) and Zachuay (another boy).

**Talyon Desoon:** Madison Taylor's descendant. A shy, insecure girl in Karu's school, she has the power to see the past and the consequences it has on the future. She has an old fashioned way of viewing things and it makes people write her off as 'weird'. But she is a great consoler and she has knowledge. She likes photos and reading fashion magazines. She has very few friends and this makes her melancholy. She has unknown powers.

**Mai Ralen:** Meilin's descendant. Her dad left her when she was just a baby. Wonders about her past, she is usually dreamy and naïve. She was born in Euro-Asia (the future Asiatic world) and she has liked Karu since she had first met him at school. Knows the ancient martial arts and is a technological genius. Not only that, she is also popular with people, much to the jealousy of Talyon.

**Leo Deoreno:** Descendant of Eriol Moon. He watches over Karu and his team as he progresses to recapture all the Clow and Sakura cards. He is one of Talyon's few friends and is distant and mysterious to others. He likes to joke.

**Robo-Kero:** Still the same cuddly, cake-loving Kero from when Sakura captured the Clow cards, but he had a totally cool transformation into a robotic figure! When he transforms, he becomes Robo-Keroberos!

**Sakura's Spirit:** Released from her Clow Key when Karu wears it, she often guides Karu into the right decisions. Is in the form of her 10 year old self. Only her descendant, Karu, can actually see her and talk to her. She is mentioned in the local legend of Todae (future Tomeda) as an ancient heroine.


	2. Karu

2050 A.D. The Age of Technology

Karu sighed as he handed his homework in for his teacher to mark. The silvery robotic 'teacher' sighed a mechanical sigh as it 'ate' the homework (using its slit for a mouth), whirred and then printed out the corrections at the back (Errr… it's at the backside of the teacher. ) Karu then read what the teacher wrote. There were many mistakes on it, due to the fact that he didn't study for his advanced hydro-quantum exam.

"Beep Late again I see, Karu. Also can you please take off your telepathic helmet?" droned the robot teacher as it rapidly fired questions at the boy.

The young teenager had messy auburn hair with black streaks along it, with glass green eyes. Today he was wearing technological gloves with a silver metallic helmet. A red jacket enclosed his otherwise thin body and he looked very tired. Karu was wearing green high tech shoes with buttons on it. He slumped in his seat as Mai, one of Karu's friends sat behind him, chatting to a girl with thick purple hair called Katrona.

Mai was one of Karu's friends since primary school and she was wearing a white suit with the latest technology on it, including a micro-computer and silicon watch. She was very popular, seeing that no one in the class had the advanced machines she had, plus she was friendly and was a genius.

"-And did you know that Johio said to me 'Cool, Mai, where did you get those machines?' and I said 'I invented them myself' and you should have seen the look on his face!" continued Mai, then she saw Karu and blushed. "HI KARU!"

"Hi Mai, how's it going?" Karu smiled at Mai, if you knew what he thought, you'll think that he liked Mai. He looked exhaustedly out the window, what he saw was flying cars that ran on water, majestic tapering buildings at impossible heights and a heavy smog of pollution all around Todae, the future Tomeda. But there were few animals or plants. _Mankind had surely reached the peak of history, but at a serious consequence. In improving their technology and ignoring the warning signs, they have lost most of their endangered animals and plants,_ Karu thought. He imagined a time when technology was still being discovered and plants and animals were still living in Todae… It was then that he noticed _her._

Sitting at the back of the classroom was a pretty, unnoticed girl, she was alone with no one to talk to and she looked fairly depressed. The pretty girl had long locks of dark chestnut-tinged hair cascading down her neck and she had eyes of purest violet, covering her eyes was a pair of gold spectacles- people hardly wore them those days, so that feature was highly unusual. She had an expression of misery as she read a magazine delicately. She was wearing some old-fashioned clothing and everybody kept laughing at her bizarre sense of fashion. _She could have been striking if she smiled a lot more,_ noted Karu.

"Who is that girl anyway?" he spoke aloud. Mai heard him.

"Oh, that's Talyon," she said airily with a little snigger. "She's new to this school. She only arrive a couple of days ago, the poor thing."

Just then the electronic bell rang, signaling the end of the day. At once everyone cheered and ran out the door- except for Talyon. She seemed to walk slowly with her head hanging down.

"Talyon? Are you alright?" asked Karu concernedly, Taylon nodded her head slightly as she stared at him with those strange sad eyes. Karu couldn't help but feel naturally sympathetic for this weird unfashionable girl.

"Ye-es. I'll be fine- really." Talyon stuttered- she was so shy.

"Want to aero-skate to my house?" offered Karu as he handed her his Aero-Skate. At this offer of kindness, she smiled a shy smile that lit up her face.

"Yes." she whispered.

Strapping the belts to his feet, Karu activated the levitator on his holographic screen and at once, the wheel less skateboard, with steam jets at the rear of it, hovered in the air and defied gravity. Due to his generosity, he also gave Talyon an exact copy of his version. Talyon was unfamiliar with the contraption, so Karu gave her a quick run-through. The user of the Aero-Skate had to turn on the jets and control the skateboard with their strapped feet as they zoomed through the air. The rest was easy. Or so he thought. For starters, Talyon was _terrible_.

"AAAGGGHHH!" screamed Talyon as she spun through the air like a whirlwind. The jets were on full blast- which explained why she lost control.

"I'll help you! Hold on!" Karu sweat dropped as he scratched his head. At once, he gave chase to the unruly levitating skateboard. Until finally one hour later Karu stopped it… To the relief of himself, who was sweat dropping- literally! They arrived at Karu's house, when Talyon asked him the _dreaded_ question:

"That was fun, Karu! Can we do it again?" said Talyon excitedly. It was then that he fainted. Talyon was puzzled. "Did I say something wrong?"

Karu's house was the foundation of the ancient legends. It was there that his great, great grandma (Sakura Avalon), according to the myths, found the magical Clow cards and captured them all. She was assisted by a magical beast called Keroberos and her other friends of the past. She became the ancient heroine of the past and before she died, her last legacy was a forbidden box which no one was allowed to open. Whoever did so suffered and was cursed by the Spirit of the box to continue on her work if the Cards ever escaped from it- for a lifetime.

Of course Karu knew of the legends, but he never believed them personally nowadays. When he was small, his mum used to tell him the fairytales of the past, and he always liked to hear the recital of the myth…

"Let's go up to the attic. It might have some clothes I could look at," suggested Talyon. To Karu, this was a strange request for a girl his age, but what the hey.

"Yeah," agreed Karu, besides he was supposed to be kind to guests…

The attic was dim and dusty after not being used for so long. Creepy shadows peered from every corner of the room. It gave the impression that you were being watched by something… Unknown to them, something_ was_ watching. This presence made Karu understandably nervous.

"Hey," Karu gave a forced laugh. "This seems cool." It was then that he knocked over a wooden box. The falling box was covered with jewels and gold patterns.

"Yes, it sure does," said Talyon, looking at some old dresses. "I wonder who used to wear those? WOW!" she said, awed as she saw the box, "It's a jewelry box!" Karu was curious to find out what was in the box, so he opened the lid…

"_HEY! DON'T TOUCH IT!"_ yelled a mechanical frightening voice. At once, glowing cards were emitted from the box, levitated and disappeared. Spooked by what happened, Talyon and Karu looked for the voice. But they couldn't find it.

"That was pretty strange. What happened?" asked Talyon. Picking up the box, she examined it and a necklace fell out. At once, Karu saw… A young brown-haired girl, who seemed younger than him, appears out of nowhere.

"AAAAHHHHHHH!" screamed Karu in horror. "A GHOST!" Talyon was even more confused. Karu began to point at the invisible girl.

"She's there! Right there! What do you want? Who are you?" said poor Karu, who was looking freaked out by everything that was happening to him so far.

"Calm down, I'll explain everything." the ghost girl said privately. "I'm Sakura Avalon, the Cardcaptor and also your ancestor. I'm here to tell you about your quest and also that there is great danger ahead for you, um- what's your name?"

"Karu Lin." said Karu quickly. "Nice to meet you, Sakura."

"Karu, you are now the Card-techtor and I am your Ancestral Advisor, I have to make sure that you understand everything about your mission. Your mission is to recapture all 52 Clow and Sakura cards, like I did many years ago."

"Er… Clow Cards? Sakura Cards?" said Karu in a daze, this was bizarre!

"I'll tell you later, they were made by a sorcerer called Clow Reed. Anyway-"

Suddenly, a well known face appeared in the middle of Sakura's speech. But he looked different. He looked like he was made out of metal parts. He was a robot.

"Why _HELLO _there!" yelled Kero as he revealed himself from the shadows.

"KEROOOOOOO!" shouted Sakura, "How many times do I have to tell you to not interrupt my speeches? And it looks like you changed as well…"

"It wasn't my fault; I just _had_ to pop in to make sure the '_Chibi' _(cute and little) Brat doesn't get hold of the Clow cards again! And _what _does he do! Opens it and releases them a _second_ time! That kid's gonna pay!" yelled the mechanical Kero. He glared at Karu.

"Errrr… Who's Kero?" asked Karu again, feeling more and more confused by the minute. Well, wouldn't you? Imagine how confused _you_ would be if you had seen the ghost of your long dead, ancestor _and_ a beast-like robot shortly afterwards. Talyon stared at Kero and she was clearly frightened of the robot.

"Kero is the former Guardian-beast of the Seal and he was one of my friends before I died. And he was annoying, liked to eat cakes and play video games… But when I was still alive, he was made out of yellow fur and flesh, like a real animal and he could transform into a winged lion beast called Keroberos."

"I still can." objected Robo-Kero, "Watch!" At once, an electrical glow surrounded the metalic Guardian beast and when it subsided, Robo-Keroberos appeared and roared. Sakura looked surprised and amazed at the same time as Karu was.

"AAAHHHH!" screamed Talyon and she was so scared, she hid behind Karu's back to protect her from the beast. "I'm scared," she whimpered…

"Hi, I'm Robo-Kero." Introduced Robo-Kero to Talyon. "Don't be afraid of me, Talyon."

And so, by that incidence, Card-Tector Karu and Talyon were both introduced to the unknown world of recapturing all 52 Clow and Sakura Cards… And unknown to them, a figure was watching them…


	3. Time Flies

**Time Flies- Karu visits the Past**

Mai knocked on Katrona's door, at once Katrona opened it and invited her to come in. The girl was one of Mai's friends and she was a chic modern girl with long purple hair, she was younger than Mai, but was more mature in her manner.

"Katrona! Want to check out my new invention?" yelled Mai.

"Sure, if you want to…" muttered Katrona as her best friend entered the house.

Suddenly, an unseen old man with a cloak appeared with an hourglass in his hand. He turned the hourglass around and the sand trickled _backwards._ Suddenly, time was in reverse for poor Mai as it was rewound back a few minutes… Once again the door opened again and Katrona asked her to come in.

"What happened?" asked Mai dazely to her friend, "Did I dream again?"

"No, but you must have! Come in, come in!" Katrona's eyebrow twitched with

annoyance as she let Mai in again… But the old man interfered again… And again… Until Mai was dizzy with continuous repetition of time itself. The old man seemed to smile and then… vanished.

At once, Karu (in a restaurant right that moment) felt something like a nagging at the back of his mind and a persistent feeling like he was drawn to something.

"What's wrong? Earth to Karu! HELLO!" asked Chesham, Karu's best friend, as he finished off his drink when he noticed Karu's strange expression. It was like his eyes were bulging and his face looked strained.

"I-I feel-feel-like… I need to go to the bathroom!" yelled Karu as he ran into the toilets. ( Cute moment!)

Many minutes later… Karu exited the bathroom, but then he froze. He froze because what he saw was unbelievable! The people in the restaurant were doing weird things. A boy was walking backwards out the door, Chesham was repeating his actions while talking to Richie (Karu's other friend, who is a girl). Richie was frozen like a statue.

"Hey, Richie! Wake up!" Karu tried to snap Richie out of it, but she didn't respond, still unmoving.

Later, Karu told Robo-Kero and the others about it.

"This looks like the work of the _Time_ Card!" yelled Kero, "We must capture it before it causes any more trouble!"

"But how?" asked Karu desperately, he didn't want his friends to stay like that forever at the restaurant.

"Why don't you try capturing it using Sakura's Clow Key?" suggested Talyon.

"No, it's too girly!" yelled Karu as he blushed. Mai did some actual thinking for a change.

"How about we use my high-tech armor that I invented for this occasion and some energy lasers?" asked Mai, with a nod of approval from Karu…

And that is how Karu, Robo-Keroberos, Talyon and Mai ended up searching for the _Time_ Card with Karu on Robo-Keroberos's back, Talyon using the aero-skates and Mai using her invented special Clow-Card detecting radar…

Suddenly, the old man from the _Time_

Just then, Talyon had a disturbing vision:

_Robo-Keroberos roared and Karu, riding on his back, ordered him to turn right. The robotic Guardian picked up the pace and shot lasers at the Clow card. But the Time Card vanished and Karu looked behind him- Just in time to see green beams of light coming towards him! Because Karu told Robo-Keroberos to turn right, now the consequences of that blind action was deadly!_

"LOOK OUT!" she yelled. Karu turned, but it was too late. The Time Card had the advantage now. The beams of time shot across the sky and collided with Karu, who was screaming with pain as the time waves engulfed his form. Then, when it seemed like he was never going to stop screaming, the green waves suddenly dissolved- and Karu fell off Robo-Keroberos!

"KARRRRUUUUUUU!" shouted Mai and Talyon as they tried to program their Aero-skates in time to catch him. Talyon swerved and caught Karu at just the right moment. Then she landed on the ground and laid Karu on it. She thought he was dead. But wait- was that breathing she heard? But then, the girl was rudely pushed by Mai, who wanted to perform CPR on Karu.

"DON'T YOU DARE, YOU INSOLENT GIRL!" yelled Mai at poor Talyon as she shoved her aside. "Let me do the handling! An expert like me should know how to perform the 'Kiss of Death' on Karu!" snarled Mai.

"Er- Isn't it called 'Kiss of Life?" added Talyo timidly. Just then Robo-Kero came along, having transformed back when the girls were fighting.

"Me, me! Let me try the 'Kiss of Revival!" Robo-Kero volunteered. "Pucker up Karu, Robbie Kero is gonna try and save you…" At that moment, the two girls seemed to glower for a moment at Robo-Kero… And they pounced on Robo-Kero, "Hey! Let go!"…

_Where am I? Blackness, darkness. Where am I! Somebody, help me! A voice heard but not seen… I can hear it, but I can't see the person. _

"Oh! Here Madison, help me lift him!"_ Footsteps, another voice… _

"But Sakura, what happened to him? He looks wounded!" _Movement, like someone is straining to carry me. Brightness and light. Opening my eyes. Looking around at my surroundings… A brown haired girl stares back at me, I recoil with horror. Sakura? But she's dead! Another girl with black hair and warm, amethyst eyes is helping me onto the bed. I look outside. The environment is unfamiliar and strange, this place is not Todae, I realize. My head aches with pain and I had to lie down again._ _This place seems familiar and different at the same time…_

"Are you okay? You don't seem to be from around here. Plus you got these weird things on you." _said Sakura, who seemed concerned about me. I turned from her; she didn't seem to know me…_

"You're right… I'm from a totally different place. I'm Karu Lin, by the way-" _I muttered gruffly, but then the mysterious black haired girl cut me off-_

"I'm Madison Taylor, nice to meet you." _She said sweetly. I couldn't believe it. She knew what I was going to say before I said it! Who did she remind me of? I wondered… _

_Suddenly Kero appeared, but he looked different… Because he looked like a cute animalistic mouse with yellow fur and he didn't look robotic! I was shocked._

"Hey, who's the new guy?" _asked Kero as he peered at me with his tiny eyes._

"This is Karu Lin,"_ Sakura introduced._


	4. Dashing through the Rain

**Card-Techor Karu **

What happens after Sakura captures all the Clow Cards; eventually grows up and has children? And what if everybody forgot about the legacy of the Clow cards and sets their sights on the future, where technology rules the Earth? This is set many generations after the present day and much has changed… And it's also about Karu-Lin, Sakura's great, great grandson, who dreams of a time when much of the Earth was untouched by technology and unknown to him; he will be a legendary hero beyond his time- he will be... The Card-Techtor. Meet the futuristic generation of the Cardcaptors in the changed Earth…

**Karu Lin: **Sakura and Li Showron's descendant. A brash, auburn-haired, courageous boy with a kind personality, he doesn't always mean what he says- most of the time. He may be rough on the outside (like Li) but inside, he's a real softie when it comes to helping people (Like Sakura). His best friends are Chesham (a boy), Richie Choy (a girl) and Zachuay (another boy).

**Talyon Desoon:** Madison Taylor's descendant. A shy, insecure girl in Karu's school, she has the power to see the past and the consequences it has on the future. She has an old fashioned way of viewing things and it makes people write her off as 'weird'. But she is a great consoler and she has knowledge. She likes photos and reading fashion magazines. She has very few friends and this makes her melancholy. She has unknown powers.

**Mai Ralen:** Meilin's descendant. Her dad left her when she was just a baby. Wonders about her past, she is usually dreamy and naïve. She was born in Euro-Asia (the future Asiatic world) and she has liked Karu since she had first met him at school. Knows the ancient martial arts and is a technological genius. Not only that, she is also popular with people, much to the jealousy of Talyon.

**Leo Deoreno:** Descendant of Eriol Moon. He watches over Karu and his team as he progresses to recapture all the Clow and Sakura cards. He is one of Talyon's few friends and is distant and mysterious to others. He likes to joke.

**Robo-Kero:** Still the same cuddly, cake-loving Kero from when Sakura captured the Clow cards, but he had a totally cool transformation into a robotic figure! When he transforms, he becomes Robo-Keroberos!

**Sakura's Spirit:** Released from her Clow Key when Karu wears it, she often guides Karu into the right decisions. Is in the form of her 10 year old self. Only her descendant, Karu, can actually see her and talk to her. She is mentioned in the local legend of Todae (future Tomeda) as an ancient heroine.

2050 A.D. The Age of Technology

Karu sighed as he handed his homework in for his teacher to mark. The silvery robotic 'teacher' sighed a mechanical sigh as it 'ate' the homework (using its slit for a mouth), whirred and then printed out the corrections at the back (Errr… it's at the backside of the teacher. ) Karu then read what the teacher wrote. There were many mistakes on it, due to the fact that he didn't study for his advanced hydro-quantum exam.

"Beep Late again I see, Karu. Also can you please take off your telepathic helmet?" droned the robot teacher as it rapidly fired questions at the boy.

The young teenager had messy auburn hair with black streaks along it, with glass green eyes. Today he was wearing technological gloves with a silver metallic helmet. A red jacket enclosed his otherwise thin body and he looked very tired. Karu was wearing green high tech shoes with buttons on it. He slumped in his seat as Mai, one of Karu's friends sat behind him, chatting to a girl with thick purple hair called Katrona.

Mai was one of Karu's friends since primary school and she was wearing a white suit with the latest technology on it, including a micro-computer and silicon watch. She was very popular, seeing that no one in the class had the advanced machines she had, plus she was friendly and was a genius.

"-And did you know that Johio said to me 'Cool, Mai, where did you get those machines?' and I said 'I invented them myself' and you should have seen the look on his face!" continued Mai, then she saw Karu and blushed. "HI KARU!"

"Hi Mai, how's it going?" Karu smiled at Mai, if you knew what he thought, you'll think that he liked Mai. He looked exhaustedly out the window, what he saw was flying cars that ran on water, majestic tapering buildings at impossible heights and a heavy smog of pollution all around Todae, the future Tomeda. But there were few animals or plants. _Mankind had surely reached the peak of history, but at a serious consequence. In improving their technology and ignoring the warning signs, they have lost most of their endangered animals and plants,_ Karu thought. He imagined a time when technology was still being discovered and plants and animals were still living in Todae… It was then that he noticed _her._

Sitting at the back of the classroom was a pretty, unnoticed girl, she was alone with no one to talk to and she looked fairly depressed. The pretty girl had long locks of dark chestnut-tinged hair cascading down her neck and she had eyes of purest violet, covering her eyes was a pair of gold spectacles- people hardly wore them those days, so that feature was highly unusual. She had an expression of misery as she read a magazine delicately. She was wearing some old-fashioned clothing and everybody kept laughing at her bizarre sense of fashion. _She could have been striking if she smiled a lot more,_ noted Karu.

"Who is that girl anyway?" he spoke aloud. Mai heard him.

"Oh, that's Talyon," she said airily with a little snigger. "She's new to this school. She only arrive a couple of days ago, the poor thing."

Just then the electronic bell rang, signaling the end of the day. At once everyone cheered and ran out the door- except for Talyon. She seemed to walk slowly with her head hanging down.

"Talyon? Are you alright?" asked Karu concernedly, Taylon nodded her head slightly as she stared at him with those strange sad eyes. Karu couldn't help but feel naturally sympathetic for this weird unfashionable girl.

"Ye-es. I'll be fine- really." Talyon stuttered- she was so shy.

"Want to aero-skate to my house?" offered Karu as he handed her his Aero-Skate. At this offer of kindness, she smiled a shy smile that lit up her face.

"Yes." she whispered.

Strapping the belts to his feet, Karu activated the levitator on his holographic screen and at once, the wheel less skateboard, with steam jets at the rear of it, hovered in the air and defied gravity. Due to his generosity, he also gave Talyon an exact copy of his version. Talyon was unfamiliar with the contraption, so Karu gave her a quick run-through. The user of the Aero-Skate had to turn on the jets and control the skateboard with their strapped feet as they zoomed through the air. The rest was easy. Or so he thought. For starters, Talyon was _terrible_.

"AAAGGGHHH!" screamed Talyon as she spun through the air like a whirlwind. The jets were on full blast- which explained why she lost control.

"I'll help you! Hold on!" Karu sweat dropped as he scratched his head. At once, he gave chase to the unruly levitating skateboard. Until finally one hour later Karu stopped it… To the relief of himself, who was sweat dropping- literally! They arrived at Karu's house, when Talyon asked him the _dreaded_ question:

"That was fun, Karu! Can we do it again?" said Talyon excitedly. It was then that he fainted. Talyon was puzzled. "Did I say something wrong?"

Karu's house was the foundation of the ancient legends. It was there that his great, great grandma (Sakura Avalon), according to the myths, found the magical Clow cards and captured them all. She was assisted by a magical beast called Keroberos and her other friends of the past. She became the ancient heroine of the past and before she died, her last legacy was a forbidden box which no one was allowed to open. Whoever did so suffered and was cursed by the Spirit of the box to continue on her work if the Cards ever escaped from it- for a lifetime.

Of course Karu knew of the legends, but he never believed them personally nowadays. When he was small, his mum used to tell him the fairytales of the past, and he always liked to hear the recital of the myth…

"Let's go up to the attic. It might have some clothes I could look at," suggested Talyon. To Karu, this was a strange request for a girl his age, but what the hey.

"Yeah," agreed Karu, besides he was supposed to be kind to guests…

The attic was dim and dusty after not being used for so long. Creepy shadows peered from every corner of the room. It gave the impression that you were being watched by something… Unknown to them, something_ was_ watching. This presence made Karu understandably nervous.

"Hey," Karu gave a forced laugh. "This seems cool." It was then that he knocked over a wooden box. The falling box was covered with jewels and gold patterns.

"Yes, it sure does," said Talyon, looking at some old dresses. "I wonder who used to wear those? WOW!" she said, awed as she saw the box, "It's a jewelry box!" Karu was curious to find out what was in the box, so he opened the lid…

"_HEY! DON'T TOUCH IT!"_ yelled a mechanical frightening voice. At once, glowing cards were emitted from the box, levitated and disappeared. Spooked by what happened, Talyon and Karu looked for the voice. But they couldn't find it.

"That was pretty strange. What happened?" asked Talyon. Picking up the box, she examined it and a necklace fell out. At once, Karu saw… A young brown-haired girl, who seemed younger than him, appears out of nowhere.

"AAAAHHHHHHH!" screamed Karu in horror. "A GHOST!" Talyon was even more confused. Karu began to point at the invisible girl.

"She's there! Right there! What do you want? Who are you?" said poor Karu, who was looking freaked out by everything that was happening to him so far.

"Calm down, I'll explain everything." the ghost girl said privately. "I'm Sakura Avalon, the Cardcaptor and also your ancestor. I'm here to tell you about your quest and also that there is great danger ahead for you, um- what's your name?"

"Karu Lin." said Karu quickly. "Nice to meet you, Sakura."

"Karu, you are now the Card-techtor and I am your Ancestral Advisor, I have to make sure that you understand everything about your mission. Your mission is to recapture all 52 Clow and Sakura cards, like I did many years ago."

"Er… Clow Cards? Sakura Cards?" said Karu in a daze, this was bizarre!

"I'll tell you later, they were made by a sorcerer called Clow Reed. Anyway-"

Suddenly, a well known face appeared in the middle of Sakura's speech. But he looked different. He looked like he was made out of metal parts. He was a robot.

"Why _HELLO _there!" yelled Kero as he revealed himself from the shadows.

"KEROOOOOOO!" shouted Sakura, "How many times do I have to tell you to not interrupt my speeches? And it looks like you changed as well…"

"It wasn't my fault; I just _had_ to pop in to make sure the '_Chibi' _(cute and little) Brat doesn't get hold of the Clow cards again! And _what _does he do! Opens it and releases them a _second_ time! That kid's gonna pay!" yelled the mechanical Kero. He glared at Karu.

"Errrr… Who's Kero?" asked Karu again, feeling more and more confused by the minute. Well, wouldn't you? Imagine how confused _you_ would be if you had seen the ghost of your long dead, ancestor _and_ a beast-like robot shortly afterwards. Talyon stared at Kero and she was clearly frightened of the robot.

"Kero is the former Guardian-beast of the Seal and he was one of my friends before I died. And he was annoying, liked to eat cakes and play video games… But when I was still alive, he was made out of yellow fur and flesh, like a real animal and he could transform into a winged lion beast called Keroberos."

"I still can." objected Robo-Kero, "Watch!" At once, an electrical glow surrounded the metalic Guardian beast and when it subsided, Robo-Keroberos appeared and roared. Sakura looked surprised and amazed at the same time as Karu was.

"AAAHHHH!" screamed Talyon and she was so scared, she hid behind Karu's back to protect her from the beast. "I'm scared," she whimpered…

"Hi, I'm Robo-Kero." Introduced Robo-Kero to Talyon. "Don't be afraid of me, Talyon."

And so, by that incidence, Card-Tector Karu and Talyon were both introduced to the unknown world of recapturing all 52 Clow and Sakura Cards… And unknown to them, a figure was watching them…

**Time Flies- Karu visits the Past**

Mai knocked on Katrona's door, at once Katrona opened it and invited her to come in. The girl was one of Mai's friends and she was a chic modern girl with long purple hair, she was younger than Mai, but was more mature in her manner.

"Katrona! Want to check out my new invention?" yelled Mai.

"Sure, if you want to…" muttered Katrona as her best friend entered the house.

Suddenly, an unseen old man with a cloak appeared with an hourglass in his hand. He turned the hourglass around and the sand trickled _backwards._ Suddenly, time was in reverse for poor Mai as it was rewound back a few minutes… Once again the door opened again and Katrona asked her to come in.

"What happened?" asked Mai dazely to her friend, "Did I dream again?"

"No, but you must have! Come in, come in!" Katrona's eyebrow twitched with

annoyance as she let Mai in again… But the old man interfered again… And again… Until Mai was dizzy with continuous repetition of time itself. The old man seemed to smile and then… vanished.

At once, Karu (in a restaurant right that moment) felt something like a nagging at the back of his mind and a persistent feeling like he was drawn to something.

"What's wrong? Earth to Karu! HELLO!" asked Chesham, Karu's best friend, as he finished off his drink when he noticed Karu's strange expression. It was like his eyes were bulging and his face looked strained.

"I-I feel-feel-like… I need to go to the bathroom!" yelled Karu as he ran into the toilets. ( Cute moment!)

Many minutes later… Karu exited the bathroom, but then he froze. He froze because what he saw was unbelievable! The people in the restaurant were doing weird things. A boy was walking backwards out the door, Chesham was repeating his actions while talking to Richie (Karu's other friend, who is a girl). Richie was frozen like a statue.

"Hey, Richie! Wake up!" Karu tried to snap Richie out of it, but she didn't respond, still unmoving.

Later, Karu told Robo-Kero and the others about it.

"This looks like the work of the _Time_ Card!" yelled Kero, "We must capture it before it causes any more trouble!"

"But how?" asked Karu desperately, he didn't want his friends to stay like that forever at the restaurant.

"Why don't you try capturing it using Sakura's Clow Key?" suggested Talyon.

"No, it's too girly!" yelled Karu as he blushed. Mai did some actual thinking for a change.

"How about we use my high-tech armor that I invented for this occasion and some energy lasers?" asked Mai, with a nod of approval from Karu…

And that is how Karu, Robo-Keroberos, Talyon and Mai ended up searching for the _Time_ Card with Karu on Robo-Keroberos's back, Talyon using the aero-skates and Mai using her invented special Clow-Card detecting radar…

Suddenly, the old man from the _Time_ Card appeared.

Just then, Talyon had a disturbing vision:

_Robo-Keroberos roared and Karu, riding on his back, ordered him to turn right. The robotic Guardian picked up the pace and shot lasers at the Clow card. But the Time Card vanished and Karu looked behind him- Just in time to see green beams of light coming towards him! Because Karu told Robo-Keroberos to turn right, now the consequences of that blind action was deadly!_

"LOOK OUT!" she yelled. Karu turned, but it was too late. The Time Card had the advantage now. The beams of time shot across the sky and collided with Karu, who was screaming with pain as the time waves engulfed his form. Then, when it seemed like he was never going to stop screaming, the green waves suddenly dissolved- and Karu fell off Robo-Keroberos!

"KARRRRUUUUUUU!" shouted Mai and Talyon as they tried to program their Aero-skates in time to catch him. Talyon swerved and caught Karu at just the right moment. Then she landed on the ground and laid Karu on it. She thought he was dead. But wait- was that breathing she heard? But then, the girl was rudely pushed by Mai, who wanted to perform CPR on Karu.

"DON'T YOU DARE, YOU INSOLENT GIRL!" yelled Mai at poor Talyon as she shoved her aside. "Let me do the handling! An expert like me should know how to perform the 'Kiss of Death' on Karu!" snarled Mai.

"Er- Isn't it called 'Kiss of Life?" added Talyo timidly. Just then Robo-Kero came along, having transformed back when the girls were fighting.

"Me, me! Let me try the 'Kiss of Revival!" Robo-Kero volunteered. "Pucker up Karu, Robbie Kero is gonna try and save you…" At that moment, the two girls seemed to glower for a moment at Robo-Kero… And they pounced on Robo-Kero, "Hey! Let go!"…

_Where am I? Blackness, darkness. Where am I! Somebody, help me! A voice heard but not seen… I can hear it, but I can't see the person. _

"Oh! Here Madison, help me lift him!"_ Footsteps, another voice… _

"But Sakura, what happened to him? He looks wounded!" _Movement, like someone is straining to carry me. Brightness and light. Opening my eyes. Looking around at my surroundings… A brown haired girl stares back at me, I recoil with horror. Sakura? But she's dead! Another girl with black hair and warm, amethyst eyes is helping me onto the bed. I look outside. The environment is unfamiliar and strange, this place is not Todae, I realize. My head aches with pain and I had to lie down again._ _This place seems familiar and different at the same time…_

"Are you okay? You don't seem to be from around here. Plus you got these weird things on you." _said Sakura, who seemed concerned about me. I turned from her; she didn't seem to know me…_

"You're right… I'm from a totally different place. I'm Karu Lin, by the way-" _I muttered gruffly, but then the mysterious black haired girl cut me off-_

"I'm Madison Taylor, nice to meet you." _She said sweetly. I couldn't believe it. She knew what I was going to say before I said it! Who did she remind me of? I wondered… _

_Suddenly Kero appeared, but he looked different… Because he looked like a cute animalistic mouse with yellow fur and he didn't look robotic! I was shocked._

"Hey, who's the new guy?" _asked Kero as he peered at me with his tiny eyes._

"This is Karu Lin,"_ Sakura introduced._

"Karu _WHO!" gaped Kero._

**Dashing through the Rain**

After school, Talyon slipped away trying to be unnoticed by the tough girl bullies who harassed her everyday (simply because she was different from other people). She was starting to think that she might have gotten away, when she reached a dead end in a dark alley… But suddenly, they pounced on her unexpectedly, pushing her against the wall. Their snickers filled the musty air…

One of the bullies was called Carlona Wry and at school, she was easily the toughest girl in Year 10. With reddish hair and a cruel interior, she had bangs that were long and hid her ice-cold eyes. Along with a group of other girls, she terrorized the school and prowled the streets, preying on the weak and weird kids at school. The bullies often threatened the victims, saying that if they told their teachers or parents, they'll be back… So the poor teens never told, fearing Carlona's gang would do worse things next time.

"Well, well, well… Look who we got here!" sneer Carlona, her eyes glittering with mercilessness. "Look at poor Talyon, all alone with nobody to even help her! Not even your _precious_ Karu! Girls," She snapped her fingers. Immediately one of the girls, who had blue hair, knocked Talyon's gold glasses off and crushed them underneath her feet, mocking her all the time.

"NO!" yelled Talyon in despair as broken glass flew everywhere, there were tears in her eyes, the glasses belonged to her mother before she passed away.

"Please… Don't hurt me!" she begged. Carlona laughed in her face.

"Or else what?" Carlona threatened. The three girls moved closer to Talyon, their faces were menacing masks and they looked like savage animals.

"Otherwise…" Talyon closed her eyes as if she was meditating. At once, the girls felt a tingling feeling all over their bodies and then they were stuck to the wall like nails stuck to a magnet. They screamed, but the wall didn't release them and they could feel a powerful force pressing on them… Talyon's eyes became a chilled cobalt colour. Carlona was now terrified; nobody else had that much power! Talyon spoke without actually opening her mouth…

"_So, now you know what it is like to be the victim for a change, Carlona?" _Her calm thoughts flowed across their minds like deadly quicksilver.

"Yes! We'll do anything! But please don't do anything to us, Talyon!" shrieked the terrified bullies, they felt their own panic rising to a breaking point.

"_Very well then, promise me one thing… Promise never to bully any one again and don't tell anyone about my telepathic/telekinetic powers. OK!"_ yelled Talyon in their minds.

"We promise!" yelled Carlona, immediately the pressure loosened and they dropped to the floor. Then they ran away screaming "AAAAAHHH!" and looking like they saw a ghost. Talyon's eyes returned to their normal purple colour and she gasped. "What have I done! I've just given my secret abilities away! What if they told Mai- or Karu?" she wept. It started to pour heavily like the tears running across her face, but she didn't care as she ran through the rain. Small eyes watched as a strange animal with a graceful form like a cat's appeared. And just as suddenly, it sped until you couldn't see it running.

Talyon ran all the way home without stopping and ran up to her bedroom and cried until her eyes were sore with crying. Her small brother called Loraen went upstairs and knocked on her door, calling her to dinner, but she ignored his banging. _I was so stupid just now! Why didn't I yell for help or at least not use my powers? Sure, I taught those bullies a lesson they deserved, but I accidentally revealed something that I had kept secret since I was a little girl! Sure, my brother and Leon both know of my abilities, but not anybody else, including Karu and Mai! Sometimes I just wish I had friends like Mai or was popular, not bullied because I'm old fashioned and have these strange abilities!_ Talyon thought depressingly.

_You're not alone, Talyon. You also have me,_ said a boy's voice, Talyon turned towards the voice and her eyes widened.

"Leon!" she yelled with joy, "I haven't seen you since a year ago!"

The boy with turquoise-blue hair smiled at Talyon and she smiled back. Leon looked as old as Talyon, but he was far wiser than he appeared. He looked like a regular 21st century kid, but he had a commanding presence about him like he could control the elements. Her childhood friend was back.

_Hey Talyon, I've heard that recently you were bullied? And then you taught them a lesson? Alright! What did the teacher say?_ he added jokingly as Talyon laughed at his lame joke. _Has anybody found out yet?_

_No, but I think they're about to because Carlona, the girl who is bullying me, might tell Karu or Mai about my special powers._ thought Talyon telepathically.

_Don't worry; I'll make sure that Carlona will never tell anyone…_ assured Leon, with a mischievous wink. Leon was often fond of playing tricks on people...

"Where is Talyon?" wondered Karu, "I was going to walk with her today."

"Never mind, you can walk with me instead," giggled Mai in an airy-fairy tone.

"If you want to…" sighed Karu. Just then, Carlona and the bullies ran along the same path screaming, "AAAAHHHH!" and the two groups crashed into each other. "WATCH IT!" shouted Mai at the girls.

"What's the rush about girls?" asked Karu to Carlona.

"Well, Talyon-!" Carlona was going to reply when her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth and she couldn't speak. A similar thing happened to the other girls when Karu also questioned them. One of the girls felt like she was going to go to the bathroom whenever she mentioned Talyon- and wet her pants in the process!

And another girl thought that Karu was a ghost and ran off saying "GHOST!"

These (somewhat) embarrassing symptoms didn't wear off until they passed Karu and Mai. They were afraid of mentioning Talyon or going near her ever!

"Weird girls," said Karu and Mai agreed with him…

12


	5. She did WHAT?

**Card-Techor Karu **

Sorry I haven't updated, but I was busy and I have camp next week so... (shrugs)

**She did WHAT!**

"Honestly, what did Ritchie do today?" asked Karu concerned. Chesham scratched his head. "Well, to be honest, she isn't herself…"

"What do you mean?" Karu persisted; the brownish haired boy had been really worried lately. Chesham, his blond locks bobbing, whispered the secret to Karu.

"HUUUHHH?" yelled Karu in annoyance, "What do you mean she cannot speak? Could she speak yesterday? Are you sure she doesn't have a cold?"

"Technically, she could speak yesterday- but as soon as I talked to her, there was this whooshing sound that tinkled like rain and she started to gasp. When I turned around, she couldn't even say a word- poor Ritchie could only lisp." Karu seemed pensive as he stared at the friend he knew since kindergarten… Chesham wasn't lying; he could see it in his eyes… No, nobody would ever lie to him…!

"This is a case that must be solved," Karu muttered to himself, ensue like Sherlock Hooks (he had watched too many Arthur Doles movies in the virtual cinemas). His electro-magnetic glass pumped up into the air as he said it.

"Chesham, my elementary friend, we must figure out the mystery of where Ritchie's voice went!" The young Card-Techtor was imitating his hero's voice, but it sounded pathetic when he tried to pronounce 'elementary'.

The word sounded like 'ele-moon-tary' to everyone else. Karu sweated, forming a big wet droplet on his head. "Well, at least I tried…" his bicoloured brown-black hair was ruffled as he grinned sheepishly. Chesham groaned; trust Karu to sound totally weird in front of everyone listening to them!

Later on after school, Karu was riding on his aero-scooter which was surfing the air, when he came across a creepy sound… _"Karu, where art thou?"_ said a familiar voice, speaking in an old language... _Ritchie! She must be around the corner._ Pressing a green button on Mai's invention, the scooter beeped before forming wings like a metallic bat. Zooming through the air, he was shocked when he couldn't find the source of the voice- because the voice was here, but Ritchie was not-?

The chilling voice of Ritchie continued, _"Ah, Karu-Lin… You recognise thy name? Thine is not wise, but wiser are those who wait…"_ Whoever was using his friend's voice? Karu panicked as he wasn't paying attention to where he was going- nearly hitting a flat wall. Crashing to the metal ground, Karu managed to run out of there, using his handy turbo-sneakers which were made out of 100 titanium plated material. Stumbling, he fled out of the place…

"And the voice said something about _wiser are those who wait…_! I know it's not my friend Ritchie, but that still creep me out!"

"Are you sure," giggled Mai, just about to burst out laughing. "Your friend might have just been pretending to be not there…"

Karu glared at her, this was not funny to him… "Can you just stop laughing for a minute? I'm completely serious!"

_I think Mai needs to have a reality check. _Talyon noted cheerfully to Karu. Mai was surprised when Karu nodded. Did that girl 'friend' tell him something secretive?

"What did Talyon say? Tell me!" she pleaded with Karu incessantly, "Oh pleeeease- tells me what she said? I'll give you my best invention!"

"I'm sorry Mai, but that information is _strictly_ confidential." Karu laughed.

Mai then growled with anger- _That snob! Karu seems to believe_ her.

"Teehee," laughed Robot-Kero as it noted Mai's expression. "Even your genius mind doesn't get to our Karu easily!"  
"GGGRRRrrrrr!" yelled Mai as Karu winked at the Robot.

Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, the amber-haired boy saw a figure appear. It was the familiar shape of his female forerunner. "Sakura," he breathed lowly.

"What?" called Robot-Kero, staring at Karu in horror- "Do you see _her?"_

"_Karu, I sense a disturbance in Todae. You must seek it out before everyone else is in danger! Power-,"_ The young Sakura Avalon gestured vaguely before vanishing again.

"What do you mean?" The adolescent Karu wanted answers, but nobody answered him. The teenage boy gritted his teeth; couldn't his ancestral advisor be more _precise?_

A gigantic blast of sound interrupted his thoughts...


	6. The Sword of Crime

**Card-Techor Karu **

**The Sword of 'Crime'**

A thousand winds passed by when there were white cracks across the darkening skies. A cloaked figure leaps from tree to tree as thunder boomed like a deep brass drum. Todae was in the midst of a terrible storm.

A man wearing a business suit, complete with gear, hurries home before it gets worse, but he is knocked by the green clothed figure.

"Watch it," yelled the slick haired man as he fumbled for his phaser-beam, made out of the finest electron-built motor. The hand-held beamer should have been…

_Was it in my pocket, somewhere?_ The man panicked, _being attacked in Todae with the crime wave increasing!_

A bead of sweat rolled down the man's face as he noticed the strange person staring consistently at him. "Can't you-"

Immediately, there was the slide of metal and the figure withdrew a long old-fashioned sword of impossibly ancient times.

The fallen man gulped as he found himself gazing at the terrible weapon.

_One cut and my head would have-_ the man shuddered despite the fear.

With one swiftly crafted sluice of the sword, the internal phaser-beam was exposed. Wires were splayed outwards; the beam immediately fell to bits on contact. The passer gasped, was the stranger insane?

"Who are you? Can't you see that cost me a fortune-" he demanded. There as a brief smirk on the foreigner's face, as transient as the wind. But the only reply was the flutter of the cloak as the person left him alone… Finally.

--------------------------------------

"Karu, darling- don't. You don't want to spoil your grandfather's prized artefacts!" A posh-looking graphite haired lady smiled apologetically at the elder-person as Karu crossed his arms in silence behind them. Visiting grandpa was not his idea of fun!

Mrs. Lin's smile was a little bit forced as Karu just turned his head in boredom.

"Karu, I'm going shopping with Mrs. Ralen. But if you don't behave or get into trouble, I'll come back and take you home!"

"I wouldn't want you to catch a cold with that storm outside! Just call! Bye my little Kaori Carol- snugging!"

The lady mum hugged him very tightly and quickly as she waved to the teenage boy. She pressed a button on her wrist band before vanishing off.

_Kaori this and Kaori that, why does she even bother to call me it?_

"Kaori," snickered Robot-Kero in his jacket, "That's really awesome… Is that your full name-? _Kaori Carol Lin._ Bwahahaha!"

"Now you can see why I prefer to call myself Karu," sweatdropped Karu. "See whether you can live with that kind of name!" he told the small robot.

"_Password_ activated," smirked Robot-Kero at our anti-hero.

"WHAT'S THE PASSWORD!" yelled Karu in annoyance at the metallic being, "I didn't tell _you to activate_ the password yet, arrrrggh!"

"It's your full name. Whenever you need my weapons, just say your birth name!"

Fortunately, Karu's grandpa was very deaf so he couldn't hear Karu's conversation.

"What did you say, Kaori?" wheezed Grandpa as he came through the door, cupping his hand to his ear.

Karu blushed for a moment before stuffing the robot into his jacket hurriedly, "Nothing Grandpa."

Inside the apartment it was very stuffy yet relaxing. Music faded and rose throughout the rooms as Karu's grandpa hobbled.

"It's time to tell you my Kaori, of the Legacy…" Grandpa empathically chuckled.

"The Lin Legacy that is… _In long ago days there was the greatest Chinese warrior there ever was." _

_"His name was Li Showron and he had three things: A sword of purest cerium, a Lasan board of elements unknown and bequeathed powers from beyond."_

_"But before he could get on with his training, he had to leave China."_

_"It was there in Tomeda that he met the freest of the fair: Sakura Avalon. Alas, it was never to be, for many years after his destined wedding, tragedy struck." _

Karu gasped in horror.

_"It was found out that someone had somehow betrayed Li Showron into giving them the rights to own his Sword!" _

_"That poor Li now owed them his marital status- on sword point. So what was he to do without his Sword?"_

_"So bidding farewell of his dignity, he gave your ancestor his love. He wanted her to be happy that she knew him since childhood." _

_"Li faced the opponent, power in their hands. The battle was soon forgotten and he also lost his life... On his own sword, however all was not lost." _

_"Your ancestor was pregnant before the fight. She gave birth to countless generations since. It is time for_ you _to wield _his_ power from beyond."_


	7. The Return

**Card-Techtor Karu **

**The Return – Part 1**

The wind blew mightily across Todae as it was a blustery day. Karu managed to pull over his aero-skates as the policeman waved to him. He sighed in deep resignation, being a Card-Techtor had its irregular ups and downs, but mostly downs.

Mainly because since his ancestor Sakura had insisted on his training sessions with the cards and Lasan board he was expected to stay up until 3 am.

As an unforeseen result it impacted on Karu's concentration as his desperate desire to sleep overtook his awareness.

He stared somewhat blankly ahead as the technology scolded him for his incompetence and warned him to pay attention. How Karu desired to hit the hay.

After a lengthy discussion about air safety, the policeman released the boy on further obligations. Karu stumbled in his atmospheric skates as he saw the city unfurl beneath him as a multicoloured 3D carpet.

He _was_ not looking forwards to the new term, which meant _more_ study, _more_ homework and worst of all… _No rest! _

Blearily, he spotted some of his friends trekking to school on their walks.

_Hey, there's Talyon!_ Karu recognised her familiar guise as Talyon strolled along absent-mindedly. She was reading a magazine excerpt indicating:

'_Twenty ways on how to make friends'_ Karu wondered about whether people ever _read_ anymore, they were more likely to catch up on the _Virtunet _or _VSN._

These oblivious ironies wanted to make him chuckle.

Just then the sky went dark for a moment.

Karu looked up at the cloudy sky as he mentally linked to the aero-skates. He commanded the skates to release the anti gravity function.

There was a sudden shudder as the protection screen went blank…

Frantically, Karu realised that he was losing altitude and he was falling into darkness.

* * *

A male voice startled Karu as he felt a foreign hand roam over his body, he couldn't see very well because it was too dark to see. 

The Card-Techtor was too weakened, but he recognised the person touching him was not someone he knew.

"So, what do we do with this pesky boy?" A teenage voice sneered.

"Hey, what are those _papers_ that are contained here? They look like trading cards."

"Yeah," said a roughened female voice, "we can sell them on the black-market and make millions on the _Virtunet!"_ A soft yet firm hand slowly gripped the cards and snatched them before Karu could react. The piercing fingernails hurt Karu's chest.

"Hey! Those are _mine!"_ Karu yelled as he saw the person's scarlet eyes.

The lady's eyes were diluted as he realised that he was being picked up and tossed.

* * *

"Hey Brandon, it looks like the little boy woke up by himself...!" The female said. 

Brandon's face snickered as Karu had a full view.

The male's face was fairly ordinary except for a major difference; his eyes were covered by Virtunet goggles.

"I'm not afraid of you guys," Karu attempted to sound macho, but Brandon smiled.

"Hey, we can dispose of your peskiness whenever we wanted to." the male replied.

Brandon shifted his goggles and Karu felt like he was staring at a cyborg.

He _was._

The teen's eyes were covered in artificial contact lenses which filtered light.

"You're a human cyborg?" the Card-Techtor gasped. Brandon nodded.

"Illegalised, persecuted, framed for the black market."

The lady snarled as she picked up a random card from Karu's deck. Karu felt lost, what was he to do?

At once, it came to him clearly. His Lasan board! He could activate it without Brandon and the accomplices knowing. The item would render the black-market cyborgs distracted at Karu's liking...

Reaching for the board, Karu prayed to the heavens that the black-market wouldn't notice.

Closer, ever closer… He felt extremely light-headed and giddy.

The pressure was getting to his head, it compressed his entire thoughts.

* * *

There was a loud crackle of lightning and an explosion rippled outwards like a nova from Karu's body. The release of unexpected supernatural powers startled Brandon. 

Karu was shocked because even though he was radiating heat, his entire body was unaffected by the build-up of concentrated electricity.

Worst of all, he couldn't control his newly activated powers, because there was no-one to guide him…!

"What the-?" Brandon swore before the magic lashed out at him and left him reeling.

Force of the impact smashed the cyborg to the metallic wall which left huge dents.

The lady screamed in terror as Karu's force-field flickered and died down once more.

Karu opened his eyes hesitantly, and in that instant the Cardtechtor wished he didn't.

The entire room once so polished and technologically futuristic now looked like the results of a landmine zone. There were remnants of metallic pieces scattered everywhere in an illogical fashion, ripped apart at the seams...!

Every few seconds, the sparks of electrical discharge still flickered, leaving behind acrid scent so familiar… Karu felt like he was about to collapse in a heap, but his mind was still alert.

_Did he do this?_ The teenager swallowed, staring at the wrecked room in disbelief.

Hard to believe one single second could spell destruction for those black-marketers.

Robot-Kero had never explained anything like this happening in the history of Todae.

Maybe he didn't just inherit the Lasan board; he also accessed the very destructive abilities possessed by his ancestors… _But was this what he wanted? _

_Was this a taste of things to come, a grim new future caused by his forces?_

Karu felt disillusioned as Brandon's artificial contact eye gave one last glimmer and faded into blackness.

* * *

For once Karu wanted something to make sense. 

Why did his grandpa tell him the story of Li Showron? Was the tale a hint of the abilities his ancestors once wielded? Was this to make Karu acknowledge the 'powers from beyond', a way of shielding him from future threats? At any cost, Karu felt vulnerable as the cyborg lady stared.

Soon, it all came into place; Karu gaped as he recognised the grown lady's face…

"Are you Eriol's guardian? _Ruby Moon?"_

"No, you are wrong on both accounts. I am _Chelsea, the former friend of Sakura…"_


	8. The Return Part 2

Karu felt as though he was about to explode with amazement. He glanced cautiously at the claimed feminine robotic being...  
"But how could this be? Chelsea, you were supposed to be long gone. I'm Karu." The lady sighed nogliastically, almost as if she regretted telling him this information. "Are you telling me the truth, and how did you know Brendan?" He reinsisted questioning her, "Just tell me whether Sakura knew you were like this." Karu almost shouted, it was unbelievable that this lady... knew of his great grandmother after so long. Was it possible that she had stumbled onto this black-market scheme?  
"Alright, what is my ancestor afraid of?" challenged Karu, he had to make sure.

"Ghosts and supernatural things," Chelsea replied cooly. Yep, she was telling the truth. Should he trust her with what he was about to learn? Chelsea could have valuble information, but he must proceed with caution. There was no telling when Brendan would awake from his consciousness. Maybe her ancedote would tell him things he wouldn't otherwise know from Robo-Kero. Besides, the robot kept some things away from his ears.

"It's a long story... It all began shortly after your Sakura started high-school," Chelsea began haltingly. "It was a fine spring morning, the air was crisp and the wind smelt of ripeness and such cleaness. Sakura and Rita were all telling each other jokes when it happened. We were caught unaware, I was so shocked at the event that time seemed to stop. A stray moment of fate intevened as a dark vehicle approached from the skies. This was unlike any other machine we had ever seen, it glistened with a metallic sheen and purred with a vengance of firepower. The vehicle was not like anything we ever saw, it hovered above the ground of its own accord. This happened all too soon. It aimed at us and I intercepted the resulting beam... But Sakura saved me, sort of... I never knew until then that she was gifted at magic. But the damage had been done," She turned away.

"The person on the vehicle later told us that he had come from the time-period of 'Larruti'. His name was Brendan, he offered peace but at a price. He told us that my friend's lives would be spared - but only if he could gain the Clow Cards illegally to sell on the black-market... When Sakura refused and declined his offer, he threw a tantrum and yelled at her, saying that he would in the 'far-fetched' future be waiting for 'a change of mind'... Or so he said." "Of course, Sakura never changed her mind but several months later everything had changed for the worst. And there was nothing anyone could do about it. Don't ask." Her expression was cryptic as she studied Karu, wondering whether he was truly Sakura's descendant. He had the same coloured hair as his father, but a youthful yet stocky body complimented his form. Karu Lin's mouth was hanging open at this recount.

A drab image of horror was starting to form in his mind, almost as clear as day... He could swear that the machine was similar to his own, but darker and more sinister. Shaking away his thoughts, the image soon vanished. But how did she get here, she mentioned not knowing his anscetor had magic... Somehow he must get out of this awful place, Karu stared up at the bare ceiling, a frayed rope hung from it swinging gently. First he must get back his deck of Clow-Cards...

"Chelsea. I know Brendan is gonna rue this event, but please allow me to achieve this?" The amber eyes begged the lady.  
"Well, as long as Brendan is not awake, I'm not under his control. You see, neural connections. So against his will, it's okay for me to disobey when he's not online. Besides I thought you are legendary descendant of my dear friend Sakura?" she teased him slightly. Karu nodded rather stiffly, he stretched out his hand to receive the cards... "Don't trick me," he warned Chelsea.  
"You have my word, Karu." Chelsea promised, "I trust that you know how to get out." The CardTector chuckled at this...  
"That's difficult: rocket power!" Karu shouted, commanding his Aero-skates to flare up


End file.
